


didn't mean to fall for you (yet here i am)

by OceannanotOceania



Series: Model AU [3]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, M/M, Some mentions of colorism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 04:36:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10506429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceannanotOceania/pseuds/OceannanotOceania
Summary: Hakyeon gets looped into doing a small photoshoot for Jaehwan. Things go better than expected.





	

**Author's Note:**

> OH GOD this is the first time I'm writing Haken so like,, I hope I characterized things well. This overlaps the second part of model AU but you don't necessarily read it to understand this fic? Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy!
> 
> As always, thank you [Jaioi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaioi/pseuds/Jaioi) for putting up with me taking Forever to write anything ever.

Hakyeon looked away from his laptop, turning slightly in his chair to see if anyone else was in the supposedly empty office. Upon not easily seeing anyone, Hakyeon frowned slightly, shrugging before turning back to his desk. It honestly wasn’t that surprising to see no one; unlike Hakyeon, the supposed workaholic, no one else would want to arrive at the office before 8am. Hakyeon’s defense was simple whenever a coworker would tease him for coming in so early: the earlier he came into work, the more likely he could leave before 4:30pm, making it less likely for him to get caught in the traffic that plagued Seoul’s crowded streets.

The agent looked down to the file to his left. He honestly couldn’t do much else right now; he’d just finished sorting through all of the paperwork he was behind on, and he’d have to wait for Ms. Kim to come in to accept his work before he could work on other things. Hakyeon placed the tips of his fingers on the file folder, sliding it a bit more to his left before shaking his head. He leaned over to the drawers built into his desk, opening the higher, more shallow one, grabbing a magazine lying on top of a wealth of miscellaneous office supplies and extra paper.

The magazine was old, at least in terms of the industry, coming out about six years ago. Hakyeon kept good care of all his possessions though, so the magazine still looked new enough that it could have been released within the last few months. In all honesty, the only thing beside the date printed in the upper corner that showed the magazine’s true age was who was on the front cover.

Lee Jaehwan, formerly known as Ken.

Hakyeon scowled slightly, starting to flip through the magazine. This was Ken’s last shoot before he dropped being a model, and Hakyeon to this day still argued that this was his best shoot. The agent stopped on Ken’s main article. It’s not like there was anything substantial about the concept; it was rather simplistic actually, with Ken modelling shirtless in either black or nude shorts against a grey background. In the interview, Ken explained how he’d wanted to do a shoot that mimicked what he’d done in his first ever shoot, expressing a want to “go back to his roots”.

There were multiple reasons Ken had decided to quit being a model, all detailed within this magazine. First off, he felt no connection to his art anymore; he’d gone too far from the simple shoots he’d done in his early days, now modelling for a wealth of cosmetics companies, concepts too elaborate for even him to understand at times. And, of course, the fame had gotten to him too quickly; even if he was only actively modelling for a year, it took little time for him to always be in the spotlight, taking off quickly on budding social media sites. It’d gotten to be too much too fast, and Ken felt like being an agent would allow him to be connected to the industry but in a way that’d allow him to appreciate the art form that is modelling, along with not having to constantly watch his back on social media.

To this day, Hakyeon couldn’t help being surprised about how easily Ken revealed himself in that interview; Vogue was no small magazine, and even being featured in an ad within the magazine was considered a big deal, an opportunity that could make or break careers. Somehow, Ken- well, Jaehwan- had made it out of there alive, easily being accepted as an agent within the agency he did modelling for.

Hakyeon let out a breath, placing the magazine on his desk before leaning back in his seat, bringing up crossed legs, his left heel resting against the edge of his desk. His head fell back against the top of his chair. Hakyeon lifted up his hand, twirling his fingers as he stared at the back of his hand, rotating to see his palm. He let his hand down, gently thudding against his armrest. 

There was nothing wrong with his skin. Hakyeon knew that; it took a while for him to accept that. Numerous bleaching creams and homemade skin lightening remedies had done a number on his skin, only serving to make his skin either dry or break out in angry, red pimples. But, he couldn’t help hating his skin at times; sure, ads meant nothing, but only seeing models with lighter skin- both within ads and at shoots- only served as a reminder that Hakyeon could never be a model, a dream thrown away mere months after it’d been conceived over a decade ago.

Hakyeon hadn't wanted to be an agent at first. A desire to stay with the fashion industry and spiteful feelings against the numerous agents who’d rejected him- reasoning only vaguely concealing their repulsion of Hakyeon’s skin- had pushed Hakyeon to desperation, making him realize that being an agent was likely the easiest way to stick around the industry, and get him the closest to being a model.

The faint opening of the office door took Hakyeon by surprise, making the agent bolt upright in his chair, heel thudding against the floor. Hakyeon cringed at the jolt of pain that radiated up his calf at the fall.

“Hakyeon?” Ms. Kim called.

“Oh.” Hakyeon mumbled, getting out of his chair and grabbing the file. He walked out of his cubicle, calling out, “I’ve finished the paperwork, if you’d be able to go over it.”

\---

“It’s nice seeing you again.”

Hakyeon flashed a cordial smile. “You too.”

Jaehwan smiled, genuine happiness radiating from him, making Hakyeon cringe slightly, eyes flickering away towards the shoot. Hakyeon faintly heard Hongbin explaining the concept, smirking when he pictured the expression on Taekwoon’s face at the explanation. He looked back to Jaehwan.

“Do you need coffee, water, anything like that?” Hakyeon asked. “Well, I guess this goes for Wonsik too.”

Jaehwan shook his head. “Wonsik drank a rather large coffee before we got here, and I’m not big on it because I get too shaky if I drink too much caffeine.”

Hakyeon shrugged. “Alright, then.”

“Thank you, though.” Jaehwan said, flashing another far too genuine smile.

Hakyeon called out a faint “sure” as he walked away, heading over to the two white tables set up behind the dark gray backdrop. He frowned at the small coffee cups set up behind two large, green coffee cartons, grabbing one of the paper cups and raising an eyebrow.

Whatever.

Hakyeon went over to the small setup of sugars and other sweeteners, grabbing a couple of sugar packets before filling the cup with as much coffee as possible, only stopping a couple centimeters away from the brim. He only stirred the coffee a couple of times before bringing the cup his lips, holding back a cringe as he took a small sip of the hot, essentially bitter liquid. The agent let out a breath, walking back over to where Jaehwan was, despite his instincts saying otherwise.

He took a longer sip of coffee, cringing slightly. “Do you ever miss modelling?”

Jaehwan blinked a couple of times, looking away from the shoot that had started.

“Not really.” Jaehwan said. “You remember my shoots?”

“Yes.”

Who could forget about them?

“Aren’t they a bit dated by now?” Jaehwan reached up a hand, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Who needs my shoots when you have models like, well,” He nodded his head towards Wonsik and Taekwoon.

Hakyeon shrugged. “Call me a product of my time then.”

Jaehwan chuckled. “I didn’t think there would be many of you left.”

The pair, surprisingly enough, fell into silence, Hakyeon sipping idly at his coffee as he relished not having to hear Jaehwan’s insistent talking.

“Is that why you don’t like me?”

Hakyeon almost dropped his coffee.

“S-Sorry, what?”

“That must be why you don’t like me,” Jaehwan said. “I’m not stupid, Hakyeon. Even if you think you’re good at being professional, it’s easy to read your emotions.”

Hakyeon’s mouth fell open slightly. Ah.

“I-” Hakyeon bit at his lip. “I don’t necessarily hate you.”

A lie.

“I just,” Hakyeon paused again, Jaehwan staring back at him with a surprisingly neutral expression. “I’m jealous. In a way. You had this whole career on the rise, but you just, threw it away.”

“I had my reasons for quitting.”

“Yeah, I know.” He was well aware, actually. “But, still. I can’t help being jealous, I guess. You had this whole career, while I could never even get an opportunity to start my own.”

“You wanted to model?”

Hakyeon nodded. “I went to as many companies as possible. They said my portfolio was too small, or that I didn’t quite fit the look they were going for.”

Jaehwan frowned. “But you’re-” He waved his hands. “You’re you.”

“And?” Hakyeon snorted. “Who would want to take someone like me. After all,” He held up his right hand, the back facing Jaehwan, his other hand pointing at an area towards the middle of his hand. 

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Jaehwan said. “At least, it doesn’t nowadays. Not everyone is so obsessed with pale models. I mean, have you seen Wonsik?”

“He’s not as dark as me.”

“He’s really not that much lighter, though.”

“Well, still.” Hakyeon said. “Even if my skin wasn’t an issue now, who would take me? I’m an established agent. Not to mention, I’m far too old to be starting a career.”

Jaehwan rolled his eyes. “You’re too stubborn. There are models in the industry that are around our age-”

“Listen, just drop it.” Hakyeon said, voice firm. “I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve with this, but I’ve given up on that dream. I gave up on that a while ago.”

Jaehwan’s frown deepened, lips bordering a pout. Hakyeon felt a pang of guilt, brushing away thoughts of whether or not he was being too harsh. He sighed.

“I’m sorry.” Hakyeon said. “I shouldn’t have been so harsh, but it’s kind of a sensitive subject for me.”

“No, it’s fine.” Jaehwan replied. “I shouldn’t have pushed it.”

Hakyeon’s lip quirked, the agent looking down at his almost empty cup and knocking back the rest of the coffee. He cringed at the undissolved sugar and grounds that rested on his tongue, gulping away the mix. Hakyeon looked around the area nearby, throwing his empty cup towards a nearby trashcan, smiling when it landed inside with little trouble.

“Do you think they’ll be done soon?”

Hakyeon looked over to the set, seeing the two models huddled near Hongbin. He shrugged. “It honestly depends on Hongbin. Why?”

“I’m behind on paperwork.”

“Oh my god.”

Jaehwan smiled nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck again. “I’m distracted easily.”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes. “You better get it together soon. If Wonsik keeps rising like he is now, there’s no way you’ll have much time to do whatever other work you have.”

Jaehwan shrugged. “I’ll find a way.”

Hakyeon groaned, turning back to the set.

\---

The loud bing pulled Hakyeon out of his work-induced daze, the agent shaking his head before grabbing his phone. Hakyeon sighed, wondering what Taekwoon was asking for-

 

_ [Jaehwan, Mon 20:55] _

_ Are you free this week? _

 

Hakyeon raised an eyebrow.

 

_ [Hakyeon, Mon 20:57] _

_ Not until Sunday, why? _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Mon 20:59] _

_ I have something I want to show you, if that’s ok _

 

_ [Hakyeon, Mon 20:59] _

_ What exactly do you want to show me? _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Mon 21:00] _

_ It’s a surprise :D _

 

Hakyeon squinted.

 

_ [Hakyeon, Mon 21:02] _

_ I don’t do things without knowing everything that’ll happen. _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Mon 21:04] _

_ Do you not trust me? _

 

A loaded question.

 

_ [Hakyeon, Mon 21:07] _

_ It’s hard for me to say yes. _

 

_ [Jaehwan, 21:20] _

_ Ok, don’t worry about it, forget I asked _

 

Hakyeon closed his eyes, letting out a long breath.

 

_ [Hakyeon, 21:22] _

_ Sorry, that was too harsh. I can trust you, but at the same time know that if things get bad I’m either leaving or calling the cops. _

 

_ [Jaehwan, 21:24] _

_ Yay!! I’ll text you more information closer to Sunday then :D _

 

_ [Hakyeon, 21:25] _

_ Ok _

 

Hakyeon switched his phone to silent, looking back up to his desktop.

What the fuck had he just gotten himself into.

~

See, if Hakyeon were to be honest, he’d definitely been at far shadier studios. The building was only one story high, brownstone facade chipped in some areas. There was a sign above the entrance, white letters advertising a  _ Seoul Studios. _ Hakyeon pulled out his phone, pulling up the address Jaehwan had sent him. His eyes flickered between the sign and his phone, the man slowly nodding. Yup, it was here.

Hakyeon pocketed his phone, slowly opening the glass door, smudged by a steady accumulation of dirt and dust. He walked into what appeared to be some kind of waiting area. A wooden desk was to his left- currently unoccupied- a black monitor sat near the edge of it. There were a few chairs set up on the wall in front of Hakyeon, wooden with faded, pink fabric on top, cotton sticking out in a few areas on two of the chairs. He raised an eyebrow, pulling out his phone-

“Hakyeon!” A familiar voice exclaimed.

The agent looked up from his phone, quickly pocketing it again.

“You should’ve let me know when you got here.” Jaehwan said. “Luckily, I’m about to finish setting up.”

Hakyeon’s mouth opened and closed, the agent quickly deciding it wasn’t worth it to say he was about to text Jaehwan.

“So elaborate on what exactly this is?”

Jaehwan looked Hakyeon over, eyes squinting as he scrutinized Hakyeon’s clothing: currently it was dark wash jeans, a dark gray button-up, and black pointed dress shoes.

“You look nice.”

Hakyeon’s eyes widened, the agent feeling his face flush. “S-Sorry, what?”

Jaehwan shook his head. “My bad.” He brought up a hand, rubbing at his chin a couple times. “Well, give me a couple more minutes to finish setting up.”

“You never told me what this is-”

“It’s a surprise, remember?” Jaehwan cut in, a grin on his face.

Hakyeon rolled his eyes. “I’m still holding true to what I said about calling the cops if need be.”

Jaehwan chuckled. “You’ll be fine, okay?”

Hakyeon squinted, hesitantly nodding his head. Jaehwan flashed another smile, ducking into the door he’d come from, closing it with a faint  _ click _ .

The agent let out a breath, shifting his weight to his left leg as he pulled out his phone, flicking through his SNS, Hakyeon actually able to check it for once. From the other room, he heard a couple of thuds followed by a muffled curse, Hakyeon unable to hold back a chuckle at the unexpected words.

Jaehwan was panting faintly when he opened the door, gulping as Hakyeon’s eyes flickered up to the man.

“Okay, everything’s set up.” Jaehwan said. “Sorry about the wait.”

“It’s fine.” Hakyeon pocketed his phone, following Jaehwan into the other room.

Hakyeon wasn’t entirely sure if he should be surprised that the room was set up for a shoot, a black, fabric backdrop pinned to the wall in front of him. A few flash lamps were set up in front of the backdrop, along with a black camera on a tripod. Further to the right there was a small, white vanity, a wealth of makeup products scattered on the table, along with a black, metal stool sat just in front. Hakyeon looked over to Jaehwan.

“Jaehwan, I hope you know that I’ve never touched a camera for more than twenty minutes.”

In fact, the one time he’d borrowed a camera recently was from another coworker, Hakyeon almost breaking the thing when he was taking photos of Taekwoon at the park.

“That’s fine.” Jaehwan said. Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “I don’t need you taking pictures of me.”

“Then why am I here-”

“I want to prove a point.” Jaehwan said, tone surprisingly serious. “Hakyeon, you may not think you’re beautiful enough to be a model, but I want to at least show you otherwise.”

“Jaehwan-”

“I’m not saying you should be a model just because of me.” Jaehwan said. “Just, I want you to know that it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

Hakyeon felt anger flare up. “This was really your surprise?”

“Yes.”

Hakyeon closed his eyes, letting out a long breath. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t fight you right here right now.”

“Because you don’t have to do this.” Jaehwan said. “If you’re really that opposed, you can leave right now. I’ll never bring up the topic again.”

Hakyeon pinched between his eyebrows, sighing again. “Just, okay. I’ll do this shoot if you’re so desperate to do it.”

Jaehwan’s face lit up. “Oh thank you, thank you. Hongbin gave me tips on taking pictures and everything, I’ve been preparing this for so long-”

“Wait, how long?”

“Um,” Jaehwan frowned. “How long ago was the first shoot for Eris?”

Hakyeon’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding me.”

“No.” Jaehwan replied bluntly. “I’ve wanted this for so long, but I haven’t had the courage to ask you about it until, well,” He shrugged. “Until now.”

Hakyeon blinked a couple of times, any potential response he thought of suddenly leaving his thoughts.

“I-” Hakyeon shook his head. “Okay. That’s surprising.” He looked back to the white vanity. “Do you know anything about makeup? I’m useless at anything other than lipstick.”

Jaehwan snickered. “Yes, I did my makeup for a few shoots when I first started modelling, and a few times for Wonsik too.”

Hakyeon nodded slowly. “Alright well,” He nodded towards the vanity, starting to walk over, Jaehwan in tow.

“Should I sit?”

Jaehwan nodded, Hakyeon sliding onto the stool. Hakyeon looked in the mirror, unable to hold back a cringe. The lights above the mirror washed out his skin somewhat, the numbers of flaws on his face even more apparent. God, when had his bags gotten so dark? Hakyeon lifted a hand, resting a fingertip just below a pimple forming on his chin.

“What are you doing?”

Hakyeon’s hand fell away, the man shaking his head before looking up towards Jaehwan.

“Nothing.”

Jaehwan rolled his eyes. “Nothing good comes out of touching your face, especially when you’re already breaking out.”

“I’m sorry?”

Jaehwan chuckled. “I’m surprised that someone who’s so connected to the industry wouldn’t know about something like that.”

Hakyeon groaned. “Working around beauty doesn’t mean I myself can understand it. Especially when...” The agent let his thought remain unfinished when he saw Jaehwan staring at him, an eyebrow raised. 

“Anyways.” Jaehwan walked over to the vanity, idly tapping a hand on the table. He grabbed an airbrush, clicking in what appeared to be a bottle of foundation. “I’m hoping this works for your skin tone, it was one of the darkest ones I could find.”

Hakyeon held back a sigh.

“Hold out your hand.” Jaehwan said. Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “Like this. I need to test out to see if it works.” He held out an arm, palm facing up.

Hakyeon mimicked the action, eyebrow remaining raised. Jaehwan sprayed a bit onto his hand, letting out a faint gasp at the color, before turning to Hakyeon, spraying a thin line along his wrist. Hakyeon’s eyes widened. 

“Oh.”

Jaehwan grinned. “It matches perfectly.”

“I-” Hakyeon gulped. “I’m surprised.” He paused, eyes fixated on the stripe on his wrist. “What brand is it?”

Jaehwan pointed the bottle towards Hakyeon. “Some American brand. The shipping wasn’t the best but,” He shrugged. “It was worth it apparently.” Jaehwan held out a hand. “Face me.”

Hakyeon turned in the stool, the agent closing his eyes. He flinched slightly when he felt foundation hit his face, hearing Jaehwan faintly  _ tsk _ . Hakyeon let out a breath, trying to relax despite his instincts telling him otherwise as foundation spread along his skin.

“You can open your eyes.” Jaehwan squinted, hesitantly reaching out a hand, resting a couple fingers on Hakyeon’s chin.

Hakyeon gulped.

“Sorry.” Jaehwan mumbled, hand tugging slightly to make Hakyeon tilt his head wherever Jaehwan needed. The man nodded, hand falling away. “It’s really nice coverage. You can look if you want, before I add more makeup.”

Jaehwan moved away so that Hakyeon could look in the mirror. His skin didn’t look quite as washed out, skin matte in some areas and a bit more dewy in others- presumably, it was just a matter of the foundation drying.

“I like it.”

Jaehwan flashed a smile that was far too genuine. “I’m glad.” He turned back to the table, lightly placing the airbrush back on the table. His fingers tapped lightly against the wood as he looked over the products, eventually grabbing a rather large eyeshadow palette and a few brushes. “I think I’m gonna do some eyeshadow and a bit of eyeliner, if that’s okay?”

Hakyeon nodded. “Whatever you need.”

“Good.” Jaehwan said. “Go ahead and close your eyes again.”

Hakyeon did just that.

“Try not to flinch too much, by the way.” Jaehwan said. “I’m using liquid eyeliner and don’t want to mess anything up.”

“Alright.” Hakyeon mumbled, suppressing his want to move when he felt Jaehwan put the brush on his eyelid. The brush is surprisingly soft, tickling slightly as Jaehwan dragged it along Hakyeon’s eyelid.

What ended up feeling more awkward for Hakyeon is when Jaehwan put on eyeliner. It felt weird, Hakyeon holding back some comment about the texture.

“Okay.” Jaehwan mumbled, Hakyeon slowly opening his eyes. “Look up, I want to put something on your waterline.”

“You’re kidding.”

Jaehwan raised an eyebrow, Hakyeon’s eyes immediately flickering up. Hakyeon was grabbing the stool with his right hand, grip tightening when he felt the black pencil under his eye, another sensation Hakyeon wasn’t particularly fond of.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad.” Jaehwan mumbled, switching to Hakyeon’s other eye.

“See? Done already.” Jaehwan turned away from Hakyeon, browsing along the array of makeup before grabbing a couple of compacts and what appeared to be another palette.

“I thought you said you were done.” Hakyeon mumbled, Jaehwan grabbing a couple of brushes.

“Well, I’m done with your eyes.” Jaehwan mumbled.

“What else is there to add?”

“Contour, highlight,” Jaehwan turned to Hakyeon, squinting slightly. “Lipstick, if you’re okay with that.”

Hakyeon ignored the last item, instead asking, “Can you really find contour for my skin tone?”

“American brands, remember?” Jaehwan said, turning the palette towards Hakyeon, a number of contours looking back at him, all around his skin tone, if not darker.

Ah.

Jaehwan dragged his finger along one of the darker contour shades, briefly staring at his fingertip before smearing a line along Hakyeon’s wrist. The color was so strong, standing out nicely against Hakyeon’s skin.

Hakyeon’s mouth fell open again. “You’ll have to remind me of these brands later.”

Jaehwan chuckled, rubbing a brush along the shade he’d swatched. “You can have this stuff if you want.”

“What?”

“You can have it.” Jaehwan said. “Turn your left cheek toward me.”

Hakyeon moved his face. “R-Really?”

“Yeah.” Jaehwan replied. “I bought all of this new, and it’s not like anything would work well for my skin tone anyways so.” He shrugged, moving forward to brush a line below Hakyeon’s cheekbone. “Might as well have it benefit someone.”

Hakyeon turned his other cheek forward when Jaehwan finished blending the one side, hesitantly mumbling, “thank you.”

Jaehwan chuckled, Hakyeon easily picturing the smile on the man’s face. “Of course.”

“So,” Jaehwan said once he’d finished contouring. He held out a few tubes, Hakyeon immediately raising an eyebrow. “What shade?”

“Is that lipstick?”

Jaehwan nodded. “What shade?”

Hakyeon blinked a few times, looking down to the tubes. The one to his left was a pinkish nude tone, the middle a blood red, while the rightmost was a deep berry color.

“Um,”

“I think one of these would be best.” Jaehwan pointed to the two darker shades.

“Aren’t they a little... strong?”

Jaehwan pursed his lips. “I don’t think so. Red suits you, I bet.”

Hakyeon bit his lip. “I guess I’ll do that, then.”

Jaehwan grinned. “A blessing.”

Hakyeon’s eyes flickered away from Jaehwan then, feeling his face flush. 

“Face me.” Jaehwan said.

Hakyeon looked up towards Jaehwan, gulping when Jaehwan grabbed the agent’s chin lightly. His thoughts began to swirl, feeling oddly dizzy as Jaehwan applied the lipstick, the man occasionally biting at his lip and squinting slightly, an expression of uncharacteristically intense concentration on his face. A snarky comment about Jaehwan’s level of concentration was on the tip of Hakyeon’s tongue, quickly fading as his thoughts turned to mush, a consistency as thick as congealing oatmeal.

“Here, do this so that you don’t get lipstick on your teeth.” Jaehwan quickly shoved his thumb in his mouth before pulling it out, Hakyeon raising an eyebrow before he slowly mirrored the action. Jaehwan grabbed a makeup wipe, rubbing the lipstick off Hakyeon’s finger and the couple of swatches along Hakyeon’s right wrist.

“Okay,” Jaehwan said. “You want to see?”

Jaehwan took a couple steps to his right. Hakyeon scooted the stool forward, metal legs faintly squeaking against the concrete floor, before he looked in the mirror, mouth almost immediately falling open.

Hakyeon had never done much with makeup. When he was younger, he’d occasionally use a BB cream that was far too light for his skin, layering ill-fitting concealer over particularly nasty acne and scars. It was all too much for his skin though, and he gave up on it soon after he gave up bleaching his skin.

This makeup was different though. Unlike his past regime, which served to conceal practically nonexistent flaws, this makeup accentuated the good things about his features. The contour made his cheekbones stand out, not enough to make his face look gaunt, but enough that the sharpness of his features became prominent. Strategically placed highlighter caught in the light, golden sparkles reflected back at him with each turn of his face. Eyeshadows of varying nude shades swept along his eyelids, supplemented by a long, straight cat-eye.

Then, of course, there was the lipstick. A bright red shade that Hakyeon never thought he could pull off in a million years, looking as if it naturally belonged there.

“I-” Hakyeon’s train of thought died almost immediately, the agent’s mouth remaining agape as he searched in vain for it. “Thank you.”

Jaehwan smiled, eyes crinkling in a way that Hakyeon would tentatively call endearing. “Of course.” He turned back to the set. “Are you ready to take pictures?”

Hakyeon nodded. “Might as well get it over with.”

Jaehwan snorted. “It won’t be that bad, trust me.”

Hakyeon quirked an eyebrow.

“Just, don’t puke.” Jaehwan mumbled.

Hakyeon couldn’t help a snort, recalling one of Taekwoon’s earliest shoots. “I’ll do my best.” The agent stood up, hesitantly walking over to the backdrop. 

His eyes flickered to the camera, watching Jaehwan fidget with something on the camera before looking up to Hakyeon.

“What kind of pose do you need?” Hakyeon asked tentatively, unsure of what to do next.

“Unbutton your shirt a little.”

“What.”

More adjusting of the camera. “You look too stiff with your shirt like that.”

Hakyeon looked down to his button-down, buttoned up to the very top. “This is how I normally look.”

“And?” Jaehwan raised an eyebrow.

Hakyeon closed his eyes, letting out a breath. His fingers were shaking slightly as he undid the top two buttons. All Hakyeon could think about was whether or not the camera would pick up on the peach fuzz on his chest; the acne scars speckled along his skin. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Jaehwan smiled. “Perfect.” He paused, looking into the sight of his camera. “Did you ever take ballet? Or any kind of dance I guess.”

“Yeah.” Hakyeon replied slowly. For about five years, Hakyeon had been in a studio that was a hybrid of ballet and contemporary. Though he personally preferred more contemporary dances- the movements allowed more freedom than those of ballet- he still couldn’t help his fascination with the beauty of ballet.

“Pose like that.” Jaehwan said. When Hakyeon quirked an eyebrow, Jaehwan continued, “Tilt your head like they do with um,  _ port de bras _ .”

“Just my head?”

Jaehwan nodded, humming faintly.

Hakyeon paused, pursing his lips briefly, before shifting his position, falling into muscle memory that could never be forgotten. His head was tilted slightly, feet turning out into something reminiscent of fourth position, hands tilting as he moved to a preparatory position, picturing his arms moving up to fourth position as well. His eyes flickered in the direction his head was tilted, focusing on a small stain he could faintly see in the distance.

The first click of the shutter took Hakyeon by surprise, the agent flinching slightly. There was a number of clicks before Jaehwan spoke again.

“Do  _ port de bras _ .”

“What?” Hakyeon’s eyes remained fixated on the stain.

“I’m sure you want to do it anyways.” Jaehwan said. “That’s how muscle memory works.”

“Just be slow about it, I want to catch the transition states too.”

“Okay.” Hakyeon replied slowly.

Hakyeon stood up normally for a brief second, moving his feet into fifth position. He moved his arms to preparatory position, arms floating out and in before he moved through each position. It was potentially strange: he moved through the  _ port de bras  _ a few times, each slightly different from the last. Hakyeon ultimately ended with his arms in fourth position, left arm stretched above his head, right reaching out towards the other side of the room, an undefined infinity.

After a few more clicks, Jaehwan said, “Ok, you can relax.”

Hakyeon blinked a couple times, arms slowly falling to his side, feet undoing their turnout.

Jaehwan took the camera off its tripod, bringing it up a couple feet in front of his face, appearing to flick through photos. The smile on his face steadily widened, Hakyeon quirking an eyebrow.

“I guess they look okay?”

“That’s an understatement.” Jaehwan mumbled, surprisingly blunt. He looked up. “Would you be okay with taking some more photos? These would be a bit more, ah, dynamic.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want you to do some dance, if that’s okay.”

Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “Are you recording me?”

“No.” Jaehwan replied. “The camera has a rapid-fire setting, though, so as long as you don’t do too much I can take plenty of pictures without getting at least a few crisp photos.”

Hakyeon nodded slowly. “Okay then. What kind of move would you want?”

Jaehwan shrugged, “Maybe a turn or some leap?”  
Hakyeon glanced around the room. “I’m not going to try a leap in here.”

Jaehwan chuckled. “Scratch that last part then.” He paused, putting the camera back on its tripod. “Can you unbutton your shirt?”

What.

“Uh,” Hakyeon paused. “What?”

“Well, unless you’re uncomfortable.”

Hakyeon glanced down to his chest, left hand reaching up to grab one of the buttons. “I hope you know that my bare chest is nothing special.”

“I’m fairly certain that’s a lie.”

Hakyeon bit his lip, eyes briefly flickering up, seeing the relatively neutral expression on Jaehwan’s face.

His fingers were shaking as he unbuttoned the shirt, Hakyeon’s eyes flickering down, unable to focus on Jaehwan. He felt his face flush as he wondered how Jaehwan’s face looked at this moment. There was a pause when he finished unbuttoning the shirt, Hakyeon drumming his fingers against his hips before looking back up to Jaehwan.

Jaehwan’s mouth had fallen open, lips curled into a perfect ‘O’. Hakyeon’s eyes immediately flickered away, the man looking straight down to his shoes. He shifted his right foot up to the ball of his foot, frowning at how his shoes had little give for him to do relevé, before he knelt down to shed his shoes. He threw his socks and shoes aside, moving up into relevé, cringing at how the joints in his feet cracked at the action. 

“You okay?”

Hakyeon looked up, flashing a nervous look.

“Did you hear that?”

“Kind of.”

“S-Sorry.” Hakyeon mumbled. He shook his head. “Are you ready, by the way?”

Jaehwan nodded. “I’ve just been waiting for you.”

“Right.” Hakyeon kicked at his shoes one last time, backing up slightly. He moved into a preparatory position, letting out another breath before moving into a double pirouette.

Hakyeon did a couple more turns after that, almost immediately moving away from more conventional ballet turns, turnout fading as he did turns that pulled more from contemporary technique.

The agent was panting quietly, feeling dizzy despite his spotting not being that awful.

Jaehwan pulled the camera off its tripod, starting to flip through photos.

“That work?”

Jaehwan looked up briefly. “Yeah. Perfect, actually.”

Hakyeon gulped. “Ah. Um, do you need anything else?” His hands moved down to the bottom of his button-up, suddenly conscious of how bare his chest was at the moment.

“Um,” Jaehwan fell to silence as he flipped through a few more photos. He shook his head slowly. “No, that’s more than enough, probably.” He looped the camera around his neck, a wide smile on his face. “Thank you.”

“Y-Yeah.” Hakyeon looked away briefly, the fingers on his right hand drumming against his hip. “I hope there isn’t too much trouble with editing them or anything like that.”

Jaehwan chuckled. “I’m certain I won’t have to edit too much, you already look beautiful enough.”

Hakyeon’s eyes widened. “I-” He looked down to his shoes, immediately kneeling down to throw them back on.

There was a strange look on Jaehwan’s face when Hakyeon looked up towards the man. “I really hope you know that everything I’ve said today was true. Even if you don’t think you’re ‘model material’, you are beautiful.”  
Hakyeon patted at his pockets, feeling his keys and phone still sitting where they were before. “I, I need to go.”

Jaehwan frowned. “Hakyeon-”

“Thank you for this,” Hakyeon said, moving over to the door. “I’m not sure if you’ve really proved anything today but-” He shrugged. “I hope you liked it.”

Hakyeon didn’t stay long enough to hear Jaehwan’s reply, practically bolting out of the studio and to his car. He flopped into the driver’s seat, panting faintly before his eyes flickered up to his rear-view mirror.

Oh, right. The makeup was still on his face, as vivid as it had been when Jaehwan first applied it. He brought a hand up, finger hovering just below his bottom lip, bright red shade hardly feathered.

Hakyeon shook his head, letting out a breath before starting his car, head turning as he backed out of the parking lot.

~

“What’s with the lipstick?”

Hakyeon blinked a couple of times, turning back to close the front door.

“I didn’t expect you to be home by now.”

Taekwoon raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t have any shoots today.”

“Still.” Hakyeon said, wandering over to the kitchen. “Shouldn’t you be out doing something with your newly deemed boyfriend?”

“Wonsik has a shoot today.” Taekwoon leaned forward, grabbing the mug off the coffee table in front of him.

“Ah.” Hakyeon turned, grabbing a mug from the cabinet above the coffee maker, pouring himself a cup of coffee practically to the brim of the mug.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Taekwoon called out.

“Oh, did I not?”

“No.”

Hakyeon threw a couple spoonfuls of sugar into his mug, stirring the black coffee a few times before bringing the mug to his lips. He cringed slightly as he took a sip of the surprisingly hot liquid.

“I was doing a favor for Jaehwan.”

“Jaehwan?”

Hakyeon nodded, adding a faint “yeah” as he went to sit at the couch, taking the spot to Taekwoon’s left.

“I thought you hated him.”

Hakyeon sipped his coffee. “I do.”

“Then why are you helping him?”

“It’s complicated.”

Taekwoon snorted, sipping his coffee. “Every time I’ve given you an answer like that in the past, you’ve immediately bothered me until I gave more details.”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Hakyeon replied. He pulled out his phone, opening his emails, eyes landing on the first one read. “Oh, right.” He pointed his phone towards Taekwoon. “So I just got sent an offer for a shoot,”

\---

The faint bing pulled Hakyeon away from the book he was in the middle of reading, the agent placing it facedown in his lap before leaning to his nightstand to grab his phone.

_ [Jaehwan, Fri 23:45] _

_ Doing some editing _

_ (Attachment: 1 photo) _

 

Hakyeon pulled up the photo, squinting at the slightly blurry photo of the computer screen.

 

_ [Hakyeon, Fri 23:50] _

_ Remind me why you’re up so late? _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Fri 23:51] _

_ Can’t sleep _

 

_ [Hakyeon, Fri 23:53] _

_ Does Wonsik not have any shoots tomorrow? _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Fri 23:55] _

_ Not until Monday _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Fri 23:57] _

_ Why are you up? _

 

_ [Hakyeon, Fri 23:59] _

_ Not big on sleeping. _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Fri 00:00] _

_ That’s no good _

 

_ [Hakyeon, Fri 00:02] _

_ I’m used to it. _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Fri 00:10] _

_ You know, I normally sleep better when there’s someone with me _

 

Hakyeon read the text over a couple times over, shaking his head.

 

_ [Hakyeon, Fri 00:16] _

_ I think I’m feeling kinda tired now. I’ll talk to you later. _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Fri 00:17] _

_ Night _

 

Hakyeon idly tapped the side of his phone, biting at his lip before he let out a breath, setting an alarm and placing his phone back on his nightstand.

\---

_ [Jaehwan, Wed 11:03] _

_ When do you get off work? _

 

Hakyeon turned back to his desktop, reading through a few more emails, glancing down towards the completed files on his desk before grabbing his phone.

 

_ [Hakyeon, Wed 11:15] _

_ I really don’t have much else today, so probably around 2 or 3. Why? _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Wed 11:18] _

_ I finished editing photos _

 

_ [Hakyeon, Wed 11:20] _

_ And? _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Wed 11:22] _

_ I printed out some for you. Maybe I can give them to you over dinner? _

 

Oh.

Hakyeon bit his lip, remembering that Taekwoon had texted earlier about how he probably wasn’t coming home tonight.

 

_ [Hakyeon, Wed 11:30] _

_ I should have time for that. When are we meeting up? _

 

_ [Jaehwan, Wed 11:32] _

_ Does around 6:30 work? _

 

_ [Hakyeon, 11:33] _

_ Sure. _

 

_ [Jaehwan, 11:35] _

_ I’ll see you then :D _

 

Hakyeon let out a breath, silencing his phone and placing it face-down. He pulled up one of the recent emails, opening the Word document attached to it.

\---

God. Why was he here?

Hakyeon read through double-checked SNS one last time, letting out a breath before he threw his head back against the wall behind him.

As per usual, Jaehwan was running late, and of course the restaurant Jaehwan had texted him didn’t allow people to sit until the full party was there, even for something as small as the two of them. His leg started to shake, fingers tapping idly against the locked phone in his lap.

Why exactly had he dressed up again? His work clothes would’ve been more than enough.

The fabric of his black button-down, a bit tight against his skin, tugged around his chest. Somehow, the numerous wrinkles of the tight fabric was appealing to a number of people; it was part of the reason why Hakyeon stopped wearing the shirt to work, the agent growing tired of the numerous inappropriate comments thrown his way. Then of course, his black slacks had been changed out for a pair of dark-wash jeans, bought about a year ago without Hakyeon initially realizing that they were skinny jeans. He’d kept on his work shoes though, black dress boots that were pointed, heel a couple inches tall. A slim, black tie had been thrown on for no particular reason, knot tied neatly.

Hakyeon turned over to the door opening to his left, bell clinking faintly above it.

Oh. He wasn’t the only one who’d dressed up unnecessarily.

Jaehwan was wearing a light gray suit jacket, tight against his skin, white dress shirt peeking out from beneath. The suit pants matched the jacket, flashing odd striped socks when the cuff peeked up. 

The man’s mouth fell open. “You look, um, you look good.”

Hakyeon’s eyes flickered away. “Thanks.” He shook his head, looking over to his right. “I’m going to get us a table.”

He ducked out before Jaehwan could say much more, letting the hostess know that his friend was here now. The pair were led to the back of the restaurant, lights dimmed to a warm yellow. Hakyeon couldn’t help raising an eyebrow when the hostess brought him and Jaehwan to a small table for two ducked into a corner, a single white candle on a glass dish burning in the middle of the table.

Jaehwan merely flashed a smile, thanking the hostess before she walked away. Hakyeon tentatively took a seat, grabbing one of the menus the hostess had set down.

“I can’t believe they did this.” Hakyeon mumbled.

“Did what?”

Hakyeon put the menu down before holding out a hand, gesturing to the candle, the dim light above them.

Jaehwan chuckled. “It’s cute.”

“I don’t think it’s cute.” Hakyeon scooted back in his seat.

“Do you want to move?”

Hakyeon paused, hands clenching and unclenching the seat. He sighed.

“No, it would be too much trouble.”

“I agree.” Jaehwan said. There was a pause before he said, “What do you think you’re going to get?”

“No idea.” Hakyeon looked up when he heard walking to his right.

A timid man, likely not over the age of twenty-one, walked up to the pair, holding a small notebook in both hands. “Hello gentlemen, what can I get started for you?”

“Um, just water-”

“What kind of wine do you have?” Jaehwan cut in.

“We have a wine menu, on the last page.” The waiter said.

“Ah.” Jaehwan paused, flipping to the back of the menu. He glanced up to Hakyeon, quickly mumbling, “What do you normally drink?”

“I don’t normally drink.” Hakyeon mumbled.

Jaehwan frowned, looking back up to the waiter. “Your best Merlot.”

The waiter slowly raised an eyebrow. “Right. Are you getting a bottle or just two glasses?”

“The bottle is fine.”

“Alright then.” The waiter scrawled a note on his notepad, quickly glancing back up. “I’ll be back with your drinks in a bit then.”

Hakyeon shot his gaze straight to Jaehwan when the waiter walked away.

“Why are you buying wine?”

“Why not?”

“I don’t drink.” Hakyeon said.

“I’m fairly certain I’ve seen you drink before.”

“I don’t drink very often.” Hakyeon corrected, adding, “So how exactly are you planning on finishing an entire bottle?”

“Well, I figured I could get you to take at least one or two glasses.” Jaehwan said. “It’s not like you got anything special anyways.”

Hakyeon bit his lip. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“No.” Jaehwan replied bluntly. “I’m just doing what people normally do on dates.”

Hakyeon’s mouth fell open. “This isn’t a date.”

“Ah.” Jaehwan said. “What is this then?”

“An opportunity to get photos from you.” Hakyeon quirked an eyebrow. “Which you did bring, yes?”

“Oh, right.” Jaehwan sat up slightly, turning back to dig through the messenger bag he’d looped around the chair. He placed what appeared to be a magazine on the table, Hakyeon raising an eyebrow before he leaned down to get a better look at it.

Oh.

Hakyeon grabbed the magazine hesitantly, pulling it a bit closer to him. The picture on the front was one of his _ port de bras _ pictures, his arms spread in fourth position. He couldn’t help snickering at the ‘CHA HAKYEON’ written in block letters in the upper left corner of the magazine.

“I wanted it to look like an actual magazine and I didn’t know what kind of title to do so,” Jaehwan shrugged. Hakyeon nodded slowly. “Look at it all, though.”

Hakyeon glanced back down to the magazine, slowly flipping through it. The magazine was filled with an almost equal mix of waist-up photos, posed, and dynamic photos. He couldn’t help being surprised at how crisp each photo looked; even the photos of his turns had minimal blurring, the little amount present adding an artistic flair to the photos.

“I-” Hakyeon gulped. “How much did you edit these?”

“Not much at all.” Jaehwan replied. “I spent more time figuring out the perfect layout for the magazine. Well, also, picking photos too. That was hard because you were equally beautiful in each photo.”

Hakyeon opened his mouth to say something, thought quickly dying in his throat when the waiter finally walked up, placing a bottle and two glasses on their table. He grabbed Jaehwan’s and Hakyeon’s orders, apologizing for the delay before ducking out.

“I’m-” Hakyeon paused, watching Jaehwan pouring out two glasses of wine. Tentatively, Hakyeon grabbed one, taking a small sip of wine, bitter liquid sitting on his tongue. “Why go through all this effort? Am I really worth it?”

“Yes.” Jaehwan replied bluntly, taking a sip of wine. He briefly glanced at the glass, flashing a disdained look. “Of course you’re worth it. I was trying to prove a point, after all.”

“Still,” Hakyeon replied. “Why try and prove anything?”

“Because I really like you.” Jaehwan said. “I know that you hate me with a passion, Hakyeon, but I really like you. I think you’re beautiful, and when your personality isn’t spite incarnate you’re a wonderful person to be around.”

Hakyeon gulped. “I-I don’t hate you.”

“Oh.” Jaehwan paused, mouth open. “Really?”

“Or, I don’t think I do,” Hakyeon said. “I thought I knew how I felt about you, but I really don’t. Nothing makes sense when I’m around you, and it seems like everytime I try to make sense of everything I get no closer to understanding-”

Hakyeon jolted when he felt something warm on his left hand, eyes flickering down to see Jaehwan’s hand on top of his own. He glanced up, an unreadable expression on Jaehwan’s face.

“So you don’t hate me?”

“I don’t think so.” Hakyeon replied hesitantly. “I wish I could say more but I really can’t.”

“That’s fine.” Jaehwan’s thumb brushed along the side of Hakyeon’s hand, the agent feeling sparks run up his arm. 

The clatter of dishes brought Hakyeon to reality, the agent quickly jerking up as the waiter brought over the food he and Jaehwan had ordered. Hakyeon and Jaehwan fell silent for a few minutes, focus directed on the surprisingly good food that was ordered.

“You know, it’s still true.” Jaehwan mumbled.

Hakyeon looked up from his dish. “Sorry, what?”

“I sleep better when I’m with someone.”

Hakyeon gulped. “Really now?”

Jaehwan nodded.

“What exactly are you proposing?”

“Stay the night with me.”

“Why?”

“Why not?” Jaehwan replied, taking a sip of wine.

Hakyeon looked back down to his plate, clinking his fork against the white ceramic a few times. Hesitantly, he glanced up.

“O-Okay. Sure.”

**Author's Note:**

> K so like,, I rlly enjoy writing for this AU ngl. I may do Hyukbin next? But I'm not too sure what I want to do with that so y'all are def welcome to request ships you'd like to see more of ! ^^


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